magic1host.com/blog

I am blessed to have some of the best bosses coach me when I first entered the working world. They passed to me what seemed like, at that time – pretty obvious things one would do when in the working world.

What seemed pretty obvious as habits for career success isn’t always so. As you start on your career path you begin to forget some of the basic habits. Therefore, it is essential to drill these habits deep enough to remember them.

As I progressed in the corporate world, I noticed that these are good habits that should be passed down to my own people just as I have benefited from internalizing them. Here are the 5 basic yet important habits for career success:

1. Get Organized

Regardless of your work, you need to get organized. If yours is office work, you will surely have filing to do. What about your emails, your electronic documents and folder system? Ever had colleagues who ask you to resend them the email you sent last week? No matter how many times you sent, they seem to have deleted it or lost it? And it is the same thing with electronic documents?

When you organize your clutter, work space and computer, you become more productive. You become efficient and effective. This adds to your good name as you progress in the organization. It is also a good habit to cultivate as you move up the corporate ladder. Imagine having more work to organize as you progress?

2. Manage Your Time

This is another simple and obvious habit amongst the habits for career success list. But I assure you; this habit is some of the biggest weaknesses people have in the corporate world. I urge you as a career newbie to start cultivating this habit of managing your time early.

Managing your time isn’t rocket science. Start with a simple to do list and a daily, weekly, monthly and year scheduler. All you have to do is to pen in all the meetings, appointments and tasks in the scheduler. As you get better you can start to use more sophisticated techniques. Managing your time is all about planning what you do and doing what you plan.

3. Under Promise, Over Deliver

As a career newbie, you would have a tendency to try to impress your bosses, colleagues or even clients. This can be driven by your raw enthusiasm. However, remember that in your quest to impress, you run the risk of destroying what little reputation you are starting to build. This is especially so when you fail to deliver on your promises regardless of how small. It could be a simple report your bosses asked but if you fail to deliver it on time, the size of the report doesn’t matter. Fact remains that you did not deliver.

Always remember that one of the important habits for career success is to under promise and over deliver. It is about managing expectations and it is about measuring your own strengths and weaknesses. It is also about knowing how to manage your own time. So, while volunteering for additional tasks is a good initiative, you may want to gauge if you can live up to that promise.

Under promise and over deliver means to say “yes” when opportunities present themselves and learning to say “no” when you know you cannot deliver.

4. There Are Always Next Steps

There are always next steps after meetings. Never let any meetings end without a clear action plan that include who to do what by when. We attend far too many meetings in order to let them slip by without clear next steps to follow through. Having clear next steps ensures you become more productive and time is well spent in meetings.

Meetings are important to assign, brief and clarify. You should not let them slip by without clear next steps. If you are chairing one, makes sure this happens. If you aren’t then ask for your set of next steps. This is one of the basic habits for career success you would bring with you for a very long time.

5. Feed Your Mind

Read motivating books; listen to tapes and watch inspiring movies. We are sometimes so inundated with negative vibes at work that you should feed your mind with positive energy. One way is through books, tapes and movies. They need not be self-improvement and self-help oriented although I find them extremely useful.

Of course, a healthy body is important too. Eat healthily and exercise. This ensures you have the energy to take the work-week with a healthy body, mind and soul.

No Comments »
Filed under: Careers

You can find many different credit card options available to you online when searching for credit card information online. You can compare various cards with rates that may seem agreeable but may have repayment terms that are not as great as those that come with a different card. You should really try to compare cards before just applying for any random card.

You can find credit cards online on almost ever different kind of subject website with banner ads and interactive ads that let you know you can get a great rate by applying online. It may not be the best idea to use these links towards finding a credit card but it may be worth it to look for a credit card option on your own.

Online services to help you find credit cards are all throughout the internet. You may go with a simple comparison search that lets you compare rates and various other options for your credit cards. This can help you choose repayment terms, credit limit and the cap at which you wish to be able to spend on your card. Most people will want to have a great interest rate and will lean towards low rate cards or cards with introductory rates that are low but grow when the promotion is over.

You can easily go online to ask on various forums about the different services that credit card companies offer and what the best deals on a credit card are. Many people can give you reviews on their experiences with their card, the support staff of the card issuer and more.

You could always ask someone that you know who has a credit card and has owned a credit card for a long period of time for advice on choosing a card to apply for. This makes it a more simple process when choosing cards that are good over those that only sound good.

If you really want to see your options improve for credit cards, you may need to take care of certain debt obligations that you are linked to. Also making sure to pay off loans and other credit cards that may be in your name can help improve your credit. You may even have a charge on one of your cards that you didn’t make or do not remember making. Taking care of your credit is your best choice in improving your available credit options.

Closing Comments

You can find the perfect card for you with the right tools to compare and search for credit cards. You may wish to ask someone else’s opinion on a card and the terms associated with that card.

No Comments »
Filed under: Business

One of the methods to improve your career advancement opportunities and to reach a level higher than your competitors is to put in more effort and do your homework.

You may have noticed that a majority of the people switch careers make somewhere around six to ten career adjustments. This is the main reason that you need to identify career advancement opportunities. You should make it a point to be certain that your employer is conscious of the fact that you are looking for career advancement.

The most appropriate time for you to consider pursuing a new job is when you feel that your present position does not have much to offer and is not all that challenging. In this case, what you could do is keep your eyes open for higher level positions with your current employer.

Unfortunately, if there are no career advancement opportunities in your current place of work, you could start by trying to find a new job somewhere else.

Here are a few ways to search out new career opportunities:

Take On More Tasks or Extra Work

One of the best ways to make it clear that you’re looking for more responsibilities is by taking on more tasks or extra work and lending your hand to other groups, or departments. This is a good way to show how committed you are to achieving the goals of the company. When it’s time to dole out the promotions, your name will be among the first mentioned.

Sit Down and Have a Talk with Your Boss

You must take the initiative to have an important, straightforward discussion regarding your career advancement with your boss. You have to be your own best advocate. You should emphasize your desire to meet the firm’s objectives as well as your own individual ones.

Look for a trusted mentor and counselor for career guidance, either inside or outside the company; research confirms that they have an impact on a lot of promotions.

Build On Your Social Skills

You must make an effort to build up your social skills like being outgoing and forthcoming. Additionally, being a powerful and clear communicator with exceptional listening skills plays an important part in gaining the respect of your colleagues and boss as well. Having these skills help you in promoting yourself and advertising your abilities by making people aware of your skills on the job and your achievements.

No Comments »
Filed under: Careers

Many people enjoy owning their own iPhone, even if it is inferior to the newer models, it still makes for a great phone. Most people will not be able to tell the difference between the iPhone and other models. This makes the iPhone a very nice phone to own. The best part, it that an iPhone can be unlocked for usage on other provider plans to get service for your iPhone.

Apple created the iPhone to get into the technology craze that has swept the world with cellular phones. This allowed them to produce a phone that is as advanced as it is stylish. Many people enjoyed the fact that the phone was created, others despised the fact that it was created to work on a single network. So unlocking methods were discovered and eventually offered.

There are many different methods that have been developed for the sole purpose of unlocking iPhones for use on other networks. The most common form is by switching out the SIM card that comes in the iPhone by default. This allows you to make and receive calls almost anywhere on any network, even in foreign countries. Other methods include changing the default code in the software of the iPhone by use of a computer, and unlocking the iPhone with the help of special unlocking companies.

There are even companies that can unlock the iPhone through the airwaves. This allows you to receive a simple text or call to your iPhone to input the code to unlock the iPhone quickly and easily. This lets most iPhone owners use their iPhone on the network they choose.

You can find many of the methods listed online by various companies. You can find the SIM cards sold everywhere as well as finding companies that sell unlock codes to enter manually. The services for unlocking through the airwaves can be charged to your credit card or debit card and have your iPhone unlocked in only a few minutes with the quick transaction process of the internet.

Unlocking the iPhone provides many benefits. This makes it possible to use any network or service provider with the calling plan that you want. The other benefit is allowing you to use your phone in foreign countries by use of SIM cards that allow you to make calls for free sometimes.

Closing Comments

Many people like the iPhone on the original service plan. Those who want to use their iPhone on their network should really consider using an unlocking method to take advantage of services that other networks provide.

No Comments »
Filed under: Computers & Technology

Owner financing often produces a winning situation for both the homeowner who is selling the property and for the buyer who is purchasing the property. Owner financing may be defined as the situation when a seller is willing to help finance a real estate transaction by creating a loan for the entire purchase if they own the home outright or by creating a loan for part of the purchase price when there is already an existing loan on the property.

There are several benefits to the seller/buyer when an owner financing is used. For one, the transaction may proceed more quickly and easily than when traditional financing is used because there are fewer companies thus fewer steps involved. For another, the seller is more apt to receive a higher sales price, and the seller will receive payments and interest over a long period of time. There are tax savings realized by selling under this installment plan. Additionally, the buyer will realize savings by avoiding loan fees and lender charges, and the negotiated interest rate will generally be lower than the available interest rates from a commercial lender. Also, for the 20% of prospective homebuyers who cannot qualify for a commercial mortgage loan, owner financing is a wonderful way for them to be able to own the home.

There are a few disadvantages to owner financing to consider. For one, if the buyer defaults on the loan the seller will have to initiate foreclosure proceedings. This can be costly, time consuming, and require work that the seller might rather avoid. Of course, after the foreclosure the property can be sold again, an advantage for some owners and a disadvantage for other owners. Additionally, the interest income generated by the loan will be subject to taxes, which could be a disadvantage to a seller who is in a higher tax bracket. Also, the seller does not receive cash for their equity immediately, but rather will receive their equity in installment payments over time.

TIPS: For the seller and the buyer to consider when negotiating an owner financed transaction. The seller should research the buyer’s creditworthiness and ask numerous questions to become confident that the buyer can fulfill their obligation. The buyer should provide a written explanation of any problems that appear on their credit report, as well as give a list or personal references. The buyer should research the local housing market and get a home inspection done to identify any major problems. Also, a proof of payment provision should be included in the sales contract so the seller can verify that the new owner is making all insurance and property tax payments. Lastly, the seller should require the buyer to stay ahead on payments, even submitting post dated checks, so that the seller has confidence that foreclosure will not become necessary in the future.

Owner financing home sales can be a winning situation for both sellers and buyers. It is important however, that both parties do their due diligence in order to reduce possible risks.

No Comments »
Filed under: Business